Paid to Shop

My cousin got her first job out of college with Hallmark.  She didn't just get any position.  She was the buyer for Hallmark.  You know all the gifts, knick knacks, ornaments, etc...?  She decided what Hallmark would purchase and sell in their stores.  It was a dream job.  She was getting paid for going shopping!

Now I don't know about you... but this is the kind of career where I would definitely be happy in my work!  A position in supplier management would be a great way to satisfy your shopping desires... while spending someone elses money.

And from what I understand, the salary is around $72,000 per year... so not only would you save money by shopping on someone elses dime... but you would be able to pack away a nice little savings.

And you know how some people compensate with shopping for emotional needs.  If they are sad, they buy something pretty to make them feel better.  If they are happy, they go shopping and buy something they've always wanted as a celebration.  Essentially, these moods would simply make you a better employee.  You would dive into your work and become employee of the month!

I love it!

This is a sponsored post however, all the points and views are my own.

Perfect

I love my son in law.  He is great.  He is smart, ambitious, funny and fun, brings out the best in everyone, kind, giving, truly thinks of others and is a wonderful husband and father.  And he is the first to admit that I did not include handy.  He is not the first person I would call to come and fix my disposal.

And it's not that he wouldn't be more than willing to give it a try.  He is an extremely helpful person.  The desire would be there, but hands on fix it kind of skills are not at the top of his list of his many admirable qualities.

And it's not that he doesn't have incredible ideas.  He is smart and very much a problem solver... he's just not not... the dryer won't heat up, kind of problem solver.  He is taking a new online company to a highly successful company and is key with sales and service and understanding the product.  Put him on a computer or on the phone and he is amazing.  Put him under the engine of a car... not so much.

True... no one is perfect... but he comes close.  He is the first to admit that he's not the guy to figure out why the sinks are backed up, or the basement is flooded... but... he definitely knows how to hire and get the Roto-Rooter Plumbing truck to come and fix it.

Maybe he is perfect.

This is a sponsored post however, all the points and views are my own.

Family First

Facebook has become a constant in today.  My kids all love to communicate with this ever present social media.  I, however, have my difficulties navigating my way and keeping up with all the likes, dislikes, pokes, and friends.

I have never really wanted a facebook page creation for myself.  I only registered so that I could see the kids pictures on their pages.  I loved being able to keep up with what they were doing.  And the pictures were so much fun.  But then it got complicated and I had a terrible time trying to accept or not accept friends.  Then people started writing on my wall and this became confusing.  I was overwhelmed.  I had so many friends!

Now I need to qualify the friends part.  I have a normal amount of friends, but when you talk of facebook friends it gets a little out of control.  Everyone wants to be your friend.  At first, I honestly thought that by accepting someone as your friend, you were going to spend time with them.  Go out for ice cream.  Talk on the phone.  And then when my friend requests grew to numbers beyond anyone's reasonable number of friends I quit.  It was just too much.  There is a thing as too much and I hit it.

Now, I have a new facebook page where it is just me and my family and it rocks!  Everything on the facebook page is about my family and let's be honest here... that is who I ultimately will want to follow when it becomes too hard to follow everyone.

Family first.

This is a sponsored post however, all the points and views are my own.

Weekend Getaways? I Recommend It!

Sometimes it just feels good to get away... but it is the actual getting away that is so hard.  We all have so much in our lives with work, school, children, friends, and countless other things.  It seems we are forever busy, busy, busy.  If you can endure the prep of getting away, and survive getting there... it is well worth the effort.  I speak from experience.

Now I'm not saying I've ever had the high end getaway.  I've never ran off to Cape Cod or dined at Marthas Vineyard restaurants.  I have, however, enjoyed a weekend off of enjoying my family.

I have a daughter in New York.  My granddaughter is there and one time I got away for the weekend just to be there for her 2 year old birthday.  Crazy trying to sew up loose ends in order to get out of here early Friday afternoon.  And it was positively crazy to fly back only 48 hours after my arrival... but it was totally and completely worth every bit of it.  My granddaughter was so surprised and I spent her entire birthday with her just doing whatever her little heart desired.

I also recently got away to my son and daughter and her husband in St. George.  They run a shuttle from Salt Lake to St. George and it is a pleasure.  I absolutely love it.  I love to read and I just sit back and enjoy the ride while I read and read.  I get there by dinner time Friday and then take the late morning shuttle back on Sunday.  Hectic... yes.  Fabulous to spend the weekend with my kids... oh yes!

The weekend getaway?  I highly recommend it!

This is a sponsored post however, all the points and views are my own.

Two Speed Limits - One Road

Sure I've gotten a few speeding tickets in my lifetime.  I do tend to be a rather speedy driver.  For the most part, I have deserved the tickets, and haven't even tried to fight a speeding ticket.  This last one, however, deserved a fight.  At least I thought so.

I was driving in Salt Lake City.  I had to run an errand and so my mission was clear.  I drove to my destination down a main street in the city.  Parked.  Got what I needed.  And headed out the same way I came in.  This is the tricky part.  One side of the road had a speed limit of 45 miles per hour.  So coming in to accomplish my task was 45.  Driving back, the speed limit was 25 miles per hour.  Weird?  Right?

Naturally, I only saw the speed limit coming in, so when I headed out, I got pulled over.  I had the usual surprised look and "Is there a problem officer?" look and this is when he informed me that I was going 20 over the speed limit.  I explained that I was sure I saw a speed limit sign that read 45 and this is where I was informed that the 45 was on the other side of the street.  I laughed... thinking he was clearly joking.  Nope.  He wrote the ticket.  I tried to the fight speeding ticket move.  I failed.  I was told that I need to always be looking... always checking for speed limit signs.

I hate it when they're right.

This is a sponsored post however, all the points and views are my own.

What To Do With That Clunker

How many times have we all been there?  You get a new car, but the old car is not really worth selling.  We get a clunker... one with a tremendous amount of metal around it... for our new teenage drivers.  They are decent cars... but inexpensive to insure and register due to their salvage title... or low value.  When we reach the time to get rid of it, it really isn't worth selling... but there are other things you can do.

We have had one weighed for it's scrap metal and since these cars tend to be built like tanks (the Mom in me insists they are protected in every way possible when they drive) and this makes them heavy.  There are places that will purchase them just for the scrap metal.  They literally weigh the car and pay you a set price per pound.

A better way to get rid of a car is donation.  What is of very little value to you... can be of great value to a variety of organization.  It is a great thing to donate cars for vets.  There are several organizations that take used, broken down cars.  They come and pick it up.  At cars for vets 100% of the money goes to veterans.  You avoid the hassle of expensive repairs, or trying to place an ad and sell the car.  And to top it off... you can take the highest resale price and use it as a tax deduction.

A simple thing... that can mean so much.

This is a sponsored post however, all the points and views are my own.

A Book That Makes You Think

I love books that make you think.  Books about other cultures or interesting situations.  I am reading a book right now that I can not stop thinking about.

It is a book that takes fictional characters through a nuclear war.  The story is obviously not real, but the situation and the out fall are very much what would happen if we did have a nuclear war.  There was the bomb that takes out an entire part of our country, but then there was another troubling issue I had no idea of.  They can take a nuclear bomb and explode it in the air and it takes out all power, anything electrical across a huge area.

Where I am at in the book right now, this has happened and essentially they have digressed to like the 1800's.  There is no power.  No phones.  No machinery.  No cars.  Nothing.  When it turns to nighttime it is black as coal.  You can't just go to the doctors if you're sick or injured.  You literally can not get there.  And food becomes a major issue.  Farms have no machinery.  There is no means of transporting food.

There have been constant warnings that we should maintain a long term food supply, and although I have heard this for years, it sounds stupid, but this book has helped me see the light.

It's good that I read books that make me think... I think?

This is a sponsored post however, all the points and views are my own.